Interview with Martin Kove for Men's Health

11.03.2021Black Dragon

TV series star "Cobra Kai" Martin Cove, has always been John Kreese. The actor talks about his thirty-six years as the franchise's villain. "Karate Kid" and about his continued excitement ahead of season three.

Between the final cinematic appearance of John Kreese - the film's villainous sensei "Karate Kid", and his first appearance in the series "Cobra Kai" - hit sequel YouTube, which became a megahit sequel Netflix, there was an almost 30-year gap. But this character never left Martina Kouva, who spent much of his career playing this iconic role.

- "During my life I starred in so many films... And as soon as filming ended, my character disappeared too"," says Cove. "But John Kreese never left. He was always a part of me.

This helped him keep the character in his head, so that for all subsequent years, without being under the camera lens, together with other stars "Cobra Kai"- Ralph Macchio и William Zabka, look convincing at meetings with fans, autograph sessions and so on. However, he connected with his character much more than he himself expected.

For his role in "Cobra Kai", Cove made a surprise cameo at the end of the first season before beginning to appear as a regular in the show's second season and the upcoming third. However, this time, unlike the films, the actor took a different approach to his role. He created a backstory for his character; Instead of re-embodying unconscious evil on screen, he told himself about Kreese's past in Vietnam, how he opened a dojo before the events "Karate Guy", and even about his childhood.

But even before officially becoming Kreese again, he discovered this character inside himself, sometimes in the most unexpected, peaceful situations.

"John Kreese usually appears when someone is arguing with me or making empty promises," he says. - Sometimes I noticed myself going to an ice cream store, and it literally closed in front of my nose because I arrived too late. And suddenly I feel this energy begin to bubble inside me, and that same look appears in my eyes again, as if it had always been in me."

Luckily, he now has somewhere to channel that energy and vision so that it can be seen by a lot more people than just the person working at the ice cream shop. U Men's Health got the chance to chat with Cove about all things Cobra Kai, including his return to his role, his experience working with the cast and creators, and everything we could find out about the upcoming third season.

Why do you think Cobra Kai has become so successful, even after all these years since the original Karate Kid films?

Martin Cove: I think the reason for the show's success is the script. Us with Robert Mark Kamen (by the original screenwriter) it always seemed that way when it came out "Karate Kid". He and I would often chat and he would say, “Yeah, Ralph and Pat have great chemistry.”
Also, the big difference was that on YouTube, writers were given freedom to create whatever they wanted. I don’t know if this would have been possible if Netflix had taken us under their wing back then. They could have put more restrictions on the writers' freedom and more control over the show. I think YouTube has helped us a lot in this regard. They were very interested in the show - we got a huge number of views. But they have 20 million viewers, and Netflix has 198 million. We got a lot more advertising.
And perhaps the situation with COVID-19 played into our hands. Everyone needs positivity right now, and this is a positive show that takes you back through flashbacks and those movie-inspired moments. As part of the series, all this seems to bring you back to those bright feelings that you experienced in the 80s. This is exactly what people need now - more positivity, and Cobra Kai gives it to them.

You mentioned the screenwriters. Hayden, John and Josh are best known for comedies like Hot Tub Time Machine and the Harold and Kumar films, while The Karate Kid has a different tone. Weren't you afraid that they might be carried in the wrong direction?

Cove: These guys loved "Karate Guy", loved the characters, loved the story, had a relationship with Robert Mark Kamen. And without them, nothing would have worked out for us. We would have a vinaigrette. I mean, we'd have a series about... It probably wouldn't last. This would be a series about continuous fights, roundhouse kicks and everything like that. So I'm convinced that the writers, because of their love for the characters, are so adept at witty writing, not just humor, because the humor is dark and they write in that vein. Everything is no longer black and white as it was in the original film. Today you need to write with more intelligence so that teenagers can identify with the characters, because the audience is much more sophisticated now than it used to be when you and I were kids.

What can fans expect from season three?

Cove: We had to do a lot of preparation and it was very exciting because we didn't know exactly what the season was going to be about. And I can only tell you that there were so many surprises for ourselves. There is so much focus on each character that the audience's reaction will be very positive. I know that the third season will be better received, even better than the first and second, because now everyone knows the characters. Everyone knows who to love and who to hate. People love to hate me, they hate the thought of loving me. This is roughly what it looks like.

And you get to really feel all the characters in season three, whereas I think in seasons one and two you only got a little taste of them. But this season will be more expansive, interesting and versatile than the first two. And this, in turn, forces the actor to work. We all had to work harder on season three because there was so much more to work on. There was a lot of work. The writers wrote a lot of great stories, came up with a lot of smart, funny plot points, and at the same time added a lot of destructive action. And it's going to be great, man. It will be absolutely amazing.

Can not wait.

Cove: This is truly a great show. I really think it will become a classic, like the movie itself, because no one expected it back then. Nobody even liked the name "Karate Kid" and we all laughed at it. Nobody expected such a resounding success, but this show keeps me in constant physical tension.
I need to train. I have to do a lot of things that I probably wouldn't do under other circumstances. I'd just play tennis or ride horseback, which I really enjoy because I love Westerns. But it really keeps you on your toes, makes you learn karate and stay in shape. It's very, very exciting and I can't wait for you to see it. Call me after you watch it and tell me if it was as cool as I promised you.

Official source: menshealth.com

Date of publication: 05.11.2020

Translation: Black Dragon